California State Parks’ Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, or OHMVR, Division announced on Monday more than $23 million in final awards for the 2025 Grants and Cooperative Agreements program, with the Mendocino National Forest among the awardees.

Eighty-one local and federal agencies, districts and nonprofit organizations were awarded funding for their off-highway vehicle, or OHV, recreation activities. 

Supporting California’s Outdoors for All initiative to expand access to nature, these grants help maintain trails for OHV recreation and/or for motorized access to non-motorized recreation, educate the public on safe and responsible OHV recreation, protect wildlife and property including natural and cultural resources, and restore/repair habitat damaged from illegal or legal OHV use.

The Mendocino National Forest will receive the largest award, $967,718, for ground operations, the state reported.

“For more than 50 years, OHV grants have helped protect California’s public lands while supporting partners of every size,” said OHMVR Division Deputy Director Sarah Miggins. “These investments will support future generations of OHV enthusiasts to become stewards of these cherished lands so they can continue to enjoy this treasured form of recreation.”

The OHMVR Division evaluated more than 137 projects requesting $27 million in grant funding requests and awarded $23.6 million in grants to the successful recipients. 

Examples of other grant recipients and their projects include:

• The Bureau of Land Management will receive over $6.6 million for 31 projects, such as a planning project for the Eagle Lake field office to inventory, map and survey for potential development of new trailheads and trails for OHV use.
• Local agencies will receive more than $6.1 million to fund 48 projects, such as a restoration project for the Stanislaus County Parks and Recreation Department to restore specific areas damaged by authorized OHV use for ecological repair to their natural state, based off the agency’s Habitat Management Program.
• Nonprofits will receive over $2.4 million to fund eight projects, such as an education and safety project for Sierra Avalanche Center to provide motorized avalanche safety courses and daily avalanche advisories in the greater Lake Tahoe area.
• The U.S. Forest Service will receive over $9.3 million for 32 projects, such as a Ground Operation project for the San Bernardino National Forest, to maintain approximately 237 miles of green sticker routes.

The 119 projects awarded by project type include:

• Development: $713,648 (one project).
• Planning: $578,873 (five projects).
• Operations: $13,626,947 (32 projects).
• Restoration: $1,603,166 (4 projects).
• Education and Safety: $1,133,179 (15 projects).
• Law Enforcement: $6,000,000 (62 projects).

The OHMVR Division has awarded funding for grants and other assistance agreements totaling more than $833 million since the inception of the Grants program in 1974. 

The annual program provides state funding through the OHV Trust Fund for OHV recreation in California by providing financial assistance to eligible agencies and organizations that develop, maintain, operate, expand, support or contribute to well managed high-quality OHV recreation areas, roads and trails. 

In addition, the program seeks to responsibly maintain the wildlife, soils and habitat of project areas in a manner that will sustain long-term OHV recreation.